Eric had watched Peter suffer for days.

He recalled in misery the events that had occurred when Crystal collapsed. His son had gone into shock. Unfortunately, Crystal's actions hadn't left them much time to recover. After Charles had promised Peter Crystal was still alive, he sprung into action. They were on the plane in seconds. Eric had discovered later that Charles had reached out to Hank the moment their containers had been broken. It took a little more persuasion to have Peter leave Crystal and remove everyone else from the building before the waves of the lake destroyed it. Some of the rescued mutants joined them on the plane, with the holds of a sanctuary at the school. They had flown back to the mansion in complete silence, but Eric could see Peter's brain ticking. As soon as they were alone, there would be fallout.

As soon as they landed, it was all business. 'Raven, Kurt, please take our visitors upstairs. See to it that they have something to eat and somewhere to sleep should they wish to spend the night. I will not be leaving the lower levels tonight so have some older students help you. I do not want to be disturbed.' Charles fired out orders like a drill sergeant. 'Hank, I want to know everything that is happening to her now. Peter, go get Sage. She might be able to tell us what's happening.'

'No'.

'Sorry, what?' Charles was perplexed by the defiance. Surely Peter would want to know what was happening to Crystal.

'No. I'm not leaving her with you. You sent her in there to die.' His hands were shaking while he desperately tried to control his building rage.

'Peter, you need to stay calm. This is not helping. Crystal is still in critical danger, and we don't have time for an outburst.' Eric couldn't believe Charles had been so careless in his words. He was clearly focusing on his daughter's mind and gave little regard for Peter's at this time.

Eric wasn't used to the role of peacekeeper, but he knew he had to at this moment. 'Charles, call for Sage. Peter, you're absolutely right. We believed Crystal was the only person who could still function after absorbing the mist. We also suspected that she would overdose and die in the process. She was aware of the risk, and she made us swear not to tell you. We acted on her wishes. Frankly, I'm surprised she's still breathing. But she is. You can shout at us, you can destroy the house, but right now, we need to treat her or she will die'.

Peter began to calm. He moved Crystal out of the plane and into the medical room. He sat beside her holding her hand, and that is where he had been for the last four days.

Eric had been upstairs, unable to watch Crystal cling to life and Peter slowly destroying his own health. It was only when Charles reached out to him that he ventured downstairs.

'I take it you have news'.

'None of it good, I'm afraid'. The fact that Charles was speaking telepathically was a worrying sign in itself.

'What has Hank found?'

'A plethora of issues, but that's not our concern. Peter hasn't physically moved in two days.'

'He's wondered. Can you blame him for wanting to be near her?'

'That's not what I mean. Look at him. He isn't fidgeting or twitching. He's shut down. Add to the fact that he won't eat and hasn't slept since we got back. Hank is concerned that if he keeps this up, there will be serious damage. We need to get him to rest.'

Eric had half a plan, but he didn't think it would work well. 'Hank? Do you have any news?'

Unaware of the private conversation between the two friends, Hank gave his data. 'It's a bit of a mess. Crystal's DNA had the capacity to absorb the mist it would become embedded in her cellular structure. The problem is, she absorbed far too much, and all the excess had nowhere to go. The mystery is, it's gone somewhere, I'm not sure where'.

'What do you mean it's gone somewhere? Has it left her body?'

'No, she wouldn't be able to expel it, and the crystals you brought back have no power left in them. It's almost like she's storing its power somewhere. What I have been able to solve is why she's in this particular state. Her body burnt a lot of energy during her time in the lab. The mist clung onto anything primal in her. When we got her back, her Amygdala and Hypothalamus were showing increased activity'. Hank must have caught the confused look on Eric's face. 'They are parts of the brain that create aggression. We're finally getting everything back into a normal range. She should wake herself up soon. I am pretty sure the sleep is her body trying to speed up the recuperating progress'. Once Hank finished speaking he went back to monitoring Crystal's vitals with diligence. The poor man had barely left her side.

'Do you hear that Peter, she'll be waking up soon?' Eric was unsure if his words had been processed. He was not given a verbal or non-verbal response. He slowly edged his way towards his son and knelt down beside him. 'When she wakes, she'd be heartbroken to see you like this. Why don't you go upstairs, clean up and rest? I swear to you if she so much as stirs I will come to get you. You'll be the first person she sees when she wakes up'. Eric waiting patiently for his son to answer.

'Everyone in this room lied to me. I promised Crystal I'd keep her safe. I swore to you that if things got bad, I'd take her and run. Why did you put me in there, when you all thought I'd have to watch her die.' His words were quiet and considered. Peter had been holding this in for days.

'She knew if you were told the real plan, that you wouldn't let her go through with it. But, she didn't want Stryker to use the mist on anyone else. When she received the message from her mother, she was given the chance to protect everyone. She was selfless enough to take it.'

'So she lied to me too'. He wasn't angry at Crystal, she had done what she thought was best. If he was honest with himself, he'd do the same for her.

'For good reason. Now, when she wakes up she'll need looking after for a few days. The last thing we want to do is give her a heart attack because you look like death. Go and rest, when she wakes I will let you wait on hand and foot if that's what you want but right now you need to sleep'. Eric wasn't sure if his words were having any impact. He was tempted to ring Peter's mother to see if she could do better, but he didn't need to. Peter got up on shaky legs, kissed Crystal on the forehead and began to walk out of the room, promising he would only be five minutes.

Did you trance him?

Sorry Eric, in his weakened state he was quite easy to get to. Still not as well as I wanted to. I hoped to get him to sleep, but it seems I've only managed to get him to leave. His mind is still quite his own.